Things Past (episode)
Sisko, Odo, Dax and Garak are trapped seven years in the past on Terok Nor, but everyone thinks that they're condemned Bajorans, and only Odo's memory can save them. Summary Dax, Garak, Odo and Sisko are en route to Deep Space 9, having attended a conference geared towards a "dispassionate historical view" of the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor. Garak indignantly claims the Bajorans present ignored every argument he made, but everyone agrees Odo was the highlight of the conference due to his reputation for fairness despite working for the Cardassians during the Occupation. However, Odo appears uncomfortable with the discussion. The runabout arrives at Deep Space 9, where its four occupants are found in a comatose state, their life signs weak. Doctor Bashir tries to awaken them, to no avail. In the infirmary, he explains to Worf that the runabout encountered a plasma storm, a relatively common phenomenon. Unfortunately, Bashir cannot explain what has happened and goes about researching the issue. Meanwhile, the unconscious crew members have awoken on the Promenade in a time when the Cardassians still controlled the what was then called Terok Nor. Even stranger, people around them seem to think the Human, Trill, Cardassian and former Changeling are all Bajoran. Gul Dukat and Odo's predecessor, security chief Thrax survey the area from the second level. Odo begins to hallucinate as the others talk, seeing a dead Bajoran man, shot in the chest with a phaser, walk by. Soon a Cardassian officer arrives to take Dax, who has been selected for "questioning". When Garak tries to stop the man, he gets a bloody nose for his trouble. Back in the infirmary, Garak's nose begins to bleed. An alarmed Bashir explains that the brain can have a powerful effect on bodily functions. There is some odd psychosomatic activity in Garak's brain, but Bashir cannot risk interrupting whatever is happening for fear that one of the patients will be injured or even killed. As usual, there is a purpose to everything Garak does; once he, Odo and Sisko are alone, he explains that he "borrowed" a scanning device from one of the guards when they took Dax. He uses it to find their Bajoran identities. Sisko is Ishan Chaye and Garak is Jillur Gueta, but Odo seems to know this already and identifies himself as Timor Landi. Before Sisko can question him about the issue, Quark arrives with a pair of guards and offers the three of them work at his bar. The other soldiers take Dax to Dukat's quarters, where there is awkward silence as he looks her over and has her pour him a bottle of kanar. He claims he is misunderstood and wants a "friend" with whom to share his innermost thoughts. Although Dax's position is not an enviable one, it is clear her predicament could be far worse. As Dax learns about Dukat's apparent penchant for Bajoran women, Garak learns what it is like to be a Bajoran laborer cleaning Quark's bar alongside Sisko and Odo. The experience seems to humble him somewhat, although he retains his Cardassian mindset about the Bajorans being better suited for such tasks. Odo has another hallucination of the Bajoran man he saw previously and two other men, and though he claims his visible discomfort is from the smell of the chemicals he is using, Sisko uses the chance to bring up Odo's apparent familiarity with their Bajoran aliases. It is revealed that Ishan, Jilur and Timor were innocent Bajorans executed for an assassination attempt on Dukat's life. The trio try to come up with a plan of escape, and while they do, Thrax enters to discuss various things with Quark. Garak recognizes a name, Livara, as a Romulan spy; however, according to his stolen data pad, Livara would have been visiting Terok Nor seven years ago, at which time Odo was serving in Thrax's place. This only leads to more unanswered questions. Later on the promenade, Sisko uses a trick he once learned from Major Kira to subtly request a meeting with the Bajoran Resistance, turning over a vase at one of the shops. They then get some soup and sit at a nearby table to wait. Things become even stranger for Odo as his hands are suddenly covered in blood; however, no one else can see it, and it disappears shortly. A Bajoran man from the Resistance joins them and Sisko tries to arrange transport off the station. Before he can finish, there is an explosion nearby where Gul Dukat is walking with Dax and his entourage. As the Bajoran man leaves, Sisko instinctively runs over to see if Dax is okay. However, he, Garak and Odo are arrested and taken to a holding cell. Thrax visits the brig that evening to inform various prisoners of their fate. Under Cardassian law, the verdict is reached before the trial begins, and Sisko and the others are to be sentenced the following day. Odo desperately pleads with Thrax, knowing they are innocent, but the Cardassian officer refuses to refute the circumstantial evidence, claiming the Bajorans need to accept their fate. Back in Dukat's quarters, he drones on about how lenient he is with the Bajorans and how he sees them as his children. Dax is obviously uninterested but pretends to listen. Waiting for an opportunity, she knocks the Cardassian upside the head and renders him unconscious. Each of the accused deals with the predicament in his own way. Garak plans an elaborate web of stories as usual in order to try to convince the Cardassians of his true identity. Odo continues to act strangely, but Sisko once again tries to connect the dots, as everything so far has pointed to the constable. Sisko theorizes that Odo knows more than he thinks he does, but once again the conversation is interrupted – this time by Dax, who burns a hole in the door of the brig. The four of them head for an airlock and Dukat's personal shuttle. Dax reveals that she has used her knowledge of the station to ensure the Cardassians will be unable to stop them from leaving. Several soldiers follow suit and a fight ensues, with Thrax facing Odo. Once the other soldiers have been subdued and Thrax appears trapped, he turns into a metallic liquid form (the hallmark of the Changelings) and escapes through an air duct. Pressed for time, they continue moving towards the shuttle but find themselves back in the holding cell, two hours prior to their execution. Thrax enters and honors Odo's previous request for an audience, taking him to the security office in the next room. There Odo attempts to reason with him, citing evidence that will prove their innocence. Thrax is more interested in order and believes the Bajorans need to accept their place in history, but when Odo reveals that the four of them do not belong there, Thrax reveals that he knows. Suddenly, Odo and the others find themselves on the Promenade, lined up and prepared for execution. His conscience visibly takes over as he tries to fight Thrax, claiming he will not "let this happen again", and the scene again changes; Sisko, Dax, Odo and Garak are now dressed normally. A distance away, the three Bajorans Odo saw earlier are lined up for execution – with Dukat and another Odo (dressed in Thrax's uniform) standing nearby. Odo reveals that he knew the Bajorans were innocent, yet let them be killed because he could not tell the difference between "order" and "justice". The Bajorans are summarily shot with a phaser, after which the scene slowly disappears and they awake in the infirmary. Baffled and intrigued, Bashir explains that some of Odo's morphogenic enzymes were apparently left over from when the Founders forced him to remain a Solid. The events were triggered by Odo subconsciously reaching out for others with whom to form a link, the end result being a telepathic experience brought on by Odo's conscience. "It would make a fascinating paper," he observes, but seeing Odo's reaction, adds, "although I don't intend to write one". Memorable Quotes "Giving me a name tag that read, 'Elim Garak - Former Cardassian Oppressor' was hardly polite." :-'Garak', to Jadzia Dax on the Bajoran conference "Bad manners are the fault of the parent, not the child. My weakness is that I'm too generous, too forgiving. My heart is too big–" (knocking Dukat out) "And so is your ego." : - Dukat and Dax "We are talking about the attempt on Gul Dukat's life, not the sociopolitical ramifications of the Resistance!" "It's all part of the same problem! When your people resort to terrorism and violence... they are fighting against order, against stability, against the rule of law, and this must be stopped." "There is more to life than the rule of law." "It has been my observation that only the guilty make that kind of statement." : - Odo (as a Bajoran) and Thrax (as Odo's former self) "You were special. You were the one man who stood apart from everyone else, the one man who stood for justice. Now what?" "Now I'm just another imperfect solid." "Okay. The Prophets know I'm not perfect. I guess the truth is that anyone who lived through the Occupation... had to get a little dirty. But I need to know that no other innocent people died on your watch, Odo. That this was the only time." "I'm not sure. I hope so." : - Kira and Odo Background Information * Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) did not appear in this episode. * This episode has thematic resonance with DS9 Season 2's . Both evoke Odo's memories of life on Terok Nor to reveal a dark secret from the Occupation; while "Necessary Evil" explored dark deeds of Kira's that she had kept hidden from Odo, "Things Past" reveals a shameful guilt of Odo's that he had kept hidden from her. The final scenes of each episode, both comprising Kira and Odo stood at opposite sides of Odo's desk with one trying to come to terms with the actions of the other, are hauntingly similar. * Curiously, when Dr. Bashir questioned the computer in the infirmary, it responded with the beep of a Starfleet computer rather than that of the Cardassian computer present on the station. Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 5.4, . *As part of the DS9 Season 5 DVD collection. Links and References Main Cast *Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko/Ishan Chaye *Rene Auberjonois as Odo/Timor Landi *Michael Dorn as Worf *Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax/"Leeta" *Armin Shimerman as Quark *Alexander Siddig as Julian Bashir *Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys Guest Stars *Marc Alaimo as Dukat *Victor Bevine as Belar Special Guest Stars *Andrew J. Robinson as Elim Garak/Jillur Gueta *Kurtwood Smith as Thrax Co-Stars *Brenan T. Baird as Cardassian Soldier *Louahn Lowe as Okala *Judi Durand as the computer voice Uncredited Co-Stars *George Colucci as stunt double for Kurtwood Smith References Bajor; Bajoran Resistance; Benten Vek; blood vessel; bone; brain; Brin Tusk; Cardassians; Cardassian comp-link; Changeling; class-2 plasma storm; comfort woman; cross-dimensional transfer; dabo girl; Federation; Gramm; Great Link; heart; holosuite; ''Honshu'' shuttlecraft; Horis; kanar; Kara Polus; latinum; Livara; Lobo; malaba; maraji crystal; Marat Kobar; morphogenic enzyme; Musilla Province; Obsidian Order; Occupation of Bajor; Pelin; plasma grenade; Rakantha Province; Romara; runabout; soup; space plasma phenomena; "spoon head"; Starfleet; Talavian freighter; temporal displacement; Terok Nor; time travel; tri-nitrogen chloride (TNC); tumor; Romulans |next= }} Category:DS9 episodes de:Die Schuld es:Things Past nl:Things Past